The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1887-03-18
BErrEn AND CHEAPER THAN lard

Impressed by the frank admission of Mr..
Philip d. Armour, of Chicago, that the
use of cotton seed oil in the manufacture
OF lard aud hog products has grown to such
an extent in late years "that his establish
ments alone consume ouc-fiith of the total
cotton oil product of the United States" I"
Taking this confession in connection with
the further statement volunteered by Mr..
Armour that the American Cotton Oil
Trust, (which now controls almost the
entire business of making oil from cotton
seeed," has entered the field ''as lard
producer" the Times was impelled to an
investigation which has yielded some inter
esting results
IL has been ascertained for instance,
that ton Of cotton seed yields from 35 to
40 gallons Of oil, aud that 5GO,O 900 tons of
seed were crushed in the mills last year.
The total oil product, therefore, was be-
tween 17,5O0,O00 and 2O,OOO,OOO gallons.
MIR. Armour admits that he uses iu his
lard factories alono onc-6fth of the total
amount, or from 3,500,O0O to 100000
gallons annually. Another large quantity
must be used by other manufacturers of
lard who compete with A Armour Il Co.,
since the business is so firmly established d
on this basis, as has been shown, that the
American Oil Trust, which has hitherto
supplied all the lard d-makcrs with oil, has
itself gone into the related ssindustry as a
matter of course.
The Times does not understand that
cotton seed oil has any injurious effect
upon those who eat the lard into whi.h it
so largely enters, but is indignant that the
adulteration should be imposed upon the
consumer. However wholesome the mix
ture of lard aud oil, tho Times rightly ar
gues, it is not what it protenJs to be, and
the consumer who pays for the cheaper
product the price Of the more expensive ar
ticle for which it is sold, is plainly swindled
in the tranaction.
This is true enough, and We assuredly
have not word to say in defence Of the
enormous fraud upon the public, which has
thus been exposed. Nor have We any idea
that the exposure alone will havo the
slightest effect upon the Wholesale fraudu-
lent practice complained Of The cotton
seed oil is very much cheaper than lard I"
and there is too much money in tho mix
ture to permit It's manufacture to be vol
unfairly abandoned by the corporations
whom it has enriched. Its value to tbe
lard makers may, Indeed, be estimated
from the fact that the new company, with
MIR. Armour at their head propose to erect
ato about twenty y-Gvc new mills for the
manufacture Of the oil, to put $40, 600 900
into the enterprise; and have openly avow-
ed their intention to hold all the stock Of
the, Company in their own hands, and re-
serve the whole product of the mills 70,
their own peculiar uses!
Il may be confidently assumed that these
interesting facts would not have been di-
vuiged, but for the qucrrcl between the
Trust Company and the lard makers and
mixers Had the Trust Company confined
its sphere Corporations to making tho oil
and selling it to the lard men, the swind-
ling OF the cotton seed producers and of the
consumers Of lard would have gone on i'd
definitely, to the satisfaction and profit OF
both the great monopolies, at least. Now
that the rogues have fallen out however,
and. have made their secret known. the
part OF wisdom, for the press, is evidently
to turn the knowledge thus acquired to the
best possible advantage of the public.
How this may be done is very plain
and we would earnestly direct the attention
of the Times, the World, and other paper.
which have taken up the subject, to the
practical and beneficial lesson which the
monopolists have taught so convincingIy
and which only requires to be set plainly
before the people in order to enable them
to protect themselves in the most effective
way.
The Times docs not understand sthat
the cotton seed oil has an injurious effect
"upon those who eat it," Our contem.
poraTy might have said a great deal more
than this. The WorM is nearer the mark
in the statement that cotton seed oil "is q
good, clean, vegetable product" and val.
liable addition to the resources of the coun-
try. a great part of tho exported product
goes, as is well known, direct to the olive
oil producers of Europe and comes back to
this country in the shape of pure olive oil, ,
to be used for all the purposes for which